Flight MH370: 122 ‘new objects’ spotted – Malaysia minister

Flights resumed on Wednesday after bad weather had forced a suspension of the search

A further 122 objects potentially from missing Malaysian flight have been identified by satellite, Malaysia’s acting transport minister has said.

The images, taken on 23 March, showed objects up to 23m (75 ft) in length, Hishammuddin Hussein said.

Some of the objects captured by France-based Airbus appeared bright and were possibly of solid material.

Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared on 8 March with 239 people on board.

The objects were located in a 400 sq km area around 2,557km (1588 miles) from Perth in Western Australia, Mr Hussein said.

The information was handed to the Australian Rescue and Co-ordination Centre in Perth on 25 March, he added.

The area being searched in the southern Indian Ocean has now been split into an east and west section, he said.

“This is another new lead that will help direct the search operation”, Mr Hussein said.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa), co-ordinating the search, said on Wednesday that flights had resumed and conditions had improved after rough seas and heavy rain forced air and sea operations to be suspended the previous day.

It said seven military and five civilian planes were taking part and a total of six countries were now involved – Australia, New Zealand, the US, Japan, China and the South Korea.